ClearScore Protect Fights Back Against Dark Web Online Fraud

LONDON, May 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

• 33% of UK residents have been victims of online fraud, with more predicted as COVID-19 scams rise 
• ClearScore Protect helps to proactively defend against fraud by monitoring the dark web for stolen personal information for free

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ClearScore, the UK's leading free credit score and credit marketplace, today launches ClearScore Protect, a free dark web monitoring service, alongside nationally representative research revealing that a third of UK adults have been victims of online fraud.  

Of those UK consumers affected by fraud, the majority (58%) experienced loss of financial data. Along with this, those who fall victim to online fraud most commonly lose between £101 and £500, with 8% losing over £1,001. On top of this, over half (55%) of UK consumers are more worried about online fraud than before the COVID-19 pandemic. All this showcases the importance of having thorough security measures for any personal online activity, including the ability to act quickly if data is compromised to prevent financial loss.

ClearScore Protect has been developed to do exactly that. It is a free service that monitors the dark web for stolen passwords, alerting users to any potential breaches every three months. Once users have been alerted, they will be shown a page containing all their breached passwords, with simple instructions on how to change them. In performing these actions, the user will prevent cybercriminals from taking advantage of their data for financial gain. 

ClearScore also offers Protect Realtime - a subscription version of the service which monitors up to three separate email addresses daily for £2.99 a month. Subscribers are able to see any compromised information - not just passwords - and also receive dedicated fraud support if they fall victim to online fraud. Of the 305,000 users who have already activated ClearScore Protect, the average person sees 7 passwords from online accounts leaked on the dark web.

To safely monitor the dark web, ClearScore has partnered with a team of cybersecurity experts who monitor thousands of criminal forums, websites and chat rooms to search for stolen data, saving it into a private and secure database. ClearScore searches this secure dark web database for any stolen data associated with the email address registered on a user's ClearScore account and alerts them if anything is found.

CEO and Co-founder of ClearScore, Justin Basini says, 'Monitoring your credit report has always been a great way to protect your identity. We made this free for millions of people when we launched ClearScore back in 2015, but with an increase in online fraud, we wanted to ensure that consumers were protected, so we set about creating ClearScore Protect 18 months ago. Having fallen victim to identity theft myself, I understand how it can impact a person's financial and mental well-being and right now everything is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are extremely proud to now offer dark web monitoring for free, forever, and hope that it will help consumers steer clear of becoming victims of online fraud.'

Troy Hunt, founder of HaveIBeenPwned.com, says, 'I receive multiple emails every day from people who've been a victim of cybercrime. There's a huge amount of misunderstanding around online safety and fraud prevention which results in emotional and financial strain for victims and their families. ClearScore Protect Realtime provides consumers with tailored support from a real human at the time they need it the most. The launch of Protect gives consumers a great resource to help minimise the impact of online fraud.'

You can find out more about ClearScore Protect here.

PDF - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1163690/ClearScore_Darkpaper_2020.pdf

Contact:
Jayna Mistry
Jayna.mistry@clearscore.com
+44(0)7496 457647